The sun was falling from the sky in slow motion, drifting ever closer to the horizon when the two stallions stepped into the forest. The waning light turned the trees golden, gilding them in bright, gleaming flames. It was as if they had stepped into a fairytale, where two lovers could walk side by side down a path lined with daisies and sunshine and hope. 

The trees grew thick around them, and through the foliage the sound of the babbling creek grew more distinct. All around them the air was alive with the calls of crickets and frogs, dust motes spinning in the air as they passed. For all the time he had spent in Viride, Aion had never wandered so far south - and why should he have? He had heard the rumors of what was to be found in Amare, and there had been no reason for him to go when he had lost his partner, possibly forever. 

But now, now he had every reason in the world walking beside him.

While the rest of Novus was a continent away, exploring another land full of magic and magical creatures, they had made themselves a world of their own. All was as it should be, so long as they were together. 

And as they walked, Aion couldn’t help himself from stealing every glance and touch he could. He leaned in close, until he could feel his lover’s pale skin against his own, and every step they took was perfectly in tandem. And even then, it wasn’t enough.

It felt to him as if heaven has finally merged with the earth, if only for them. They were married now, married, a reality that he was only now beginning to understand. The months they had spent apart had torn a hole through his chest that would take many more kisses to fill, and since their trip to Veneror he was all the more determined to steal them. 

A shiver courses down his spine as their shoulders touch, despite the warmth of the spring night, and he presses himself happily into the pressure. 

A thousand fireflies light the path they walk down, and Aion is surprised to hear his own laughter filling the air when they appear before them. It’s a soft, almost timorous sound, one he doesn’t reveal nearly often enough. He laughs into Eros’ neck, and punctuates it with a kiss to his crest.

“You are beautiful.” They are, perhaps, the most honest words he’s ever spoken, besides I love you. Tonight his lover is framed in gold, and positively glowing in the soft forest light. The very sight of him is intoxicating, and so Aion pulls him closer, pressing his lips against his neck, his throat, his cheek, unable to resist. He tells himself it’s the time they’ve spent away, and the encounter on Veneror, and the wine lingering in his veins from before they left the Court.

But in reality it’s Eros - it has always been Eros, changing him from within with every breath he took. 

Normally it would be Eros initiating the contact - but tonight, oh tonight Aion is gluttonous, and the very idea of withdrawing is far from his mind. 

Tonight it’s just himself and Eros, and all the world is spiraling away into dust.







walk. "talk."
@eros

Was it just him, or were the fireflies guiding them? They light the path like a thousand miniature lanterns, floating along slowly just in front of the traveling lovers. And yet even as Aion watches, the cloud of lightning bugs parts into two even, flickering sides, arranging themselves on either half of the trail. For a moment he simply watches them, as the forest grows slowly darker and they become the brightest lights - until Eros brings him back to the present.

He can hear each breath, feel each heartbeat; and the longer they walk, the more in rhythm they become. Aion wills his heart to beat slower, to match his beloved’s, and amazingly, it listens.

Perhaps it’s because even his heart knows that they are one; perhaps it’s the universe drawing them closer together, merging their souls together.

Of course, Aion doesn’t believe in fate - but Eros was making a believer out of him, and it was a nice thought besides.

”Beautiful, hmm?” Aion hums in agreement, letting his lips explore every inch of new skin that Eros exposes. ”Tell me more.” He pulls back - only slightly, so that he can look at him. Words of love never had come easily to him, Aion had far too little practice in saying them. But the look he finds him Eros’ eyes, like warm, soft honey that draws him in, encourages him on. He didn’t need practice, not when being with Eros was the only thing besides flying that came naturally to him.

“Yes,” he confirms, rubbing his head along Eros’ neck. He can’t stop touching him, or inching closer as they walk - even when they’re skin on skin, and there’s no space left between them. There’s comfort in the pressure of the other man’s body on his. “Like the first day of spring.” There are a thousand things Aion could compare him to, but somehow they all fell short. They always would; nothing was as radiant as his mate.

His. ”When I think of beauty,” he says, and this time when he kisses his shoulder there’s a scrape of teeth on skin, ”I only see you.”

And before you, there was no beauty.

“Are we almost to the river?” he murmurs, but there’s another question, a more important one, that he leaves unsaid.

Will we make it that far?






walk. "talk."
@eros

He can’t quite tell if it’s his own heart he hears roaring in his ears, thumping painfully away inside of his chest - or if it’s Eros’. But away it beats, like a rabbit running for cover. They’re so close now, every inch of them pressed together like pollen stuck to the underside of a bee. Inseparable, is the word that springs to his mind, a word he clings to with the same desperation that makes him press his shoulder into Eros’. He doesn’t want to be separated, not again, not ever.

The rest of the world could have their strange Courts, with their magic and islands and random events. He would give his wings gladly back to fate as long as it meant fate would allow him to keep his Eros in return.

”Aion!” A smile is his only response to the admonishment, as he skims his muzzle along the rest of Eros’ shoulder blade. He lingers over his skin, his breath hitching in his throat. It takes too much effort to draw away, to force himself to continue walking when everything in him wants to stop and draw out this moment forever.

And he almost groans out loud in frustration at Eros’ next words. He had expected to be at the river by now - they’d been told it wasn’t far, only a quick trip through the woods, a forest bordered on one side by the Rapax and on the other, by the Amare. Surely they had walked far enough by now - or was it only their impatience making it feel that way? 



Eros pulls back then, and even though it’s only by inches Aion misses the contact. He wants to follow alongside him, to keep them as close as possible, but he lets him go. He knows his lover well enough to know the distance won’t be kept between them for long.

“Do you want to?” he asks softly, and when their hoofbeats stop he thinks his heart might stop along with them. Time slows and condenses around them, dwindling down until it’s reduced to a thin thread that winds itself about their bodies, tying them tightly and neatly together. 



Aion turns to look at his beloved - and when he does there’s a brightness in his blue eyes not often found there. The fading light dances in his gaze, almost mischievous, almost coy.

And he presses their shoulders together again, only this time it’s to guide them off the path. The forest opens around them invitingly, promising privacy.



“…Because I don’t.”






walk. "talk."
@eros

It doesn’t take long - as soon as the words leave his lips Eros is back, body pressed tightly against his own. Aion shivers at the contact, pressing back into it hungrily. It’s all he can do to keep his feet steady, his path straight. He can’t imagine they’ll get far from the path, not like this.

But for once, he doesn’t care.

”No,” Eros tells him, and each kiss is like wildfire lighting up his spine. ”I never want to wait when it comes to you.” It’s almost too much, burning him alive. He’s never felt so warm, so alive, so temerarious in all his life.

“Good.”

The trees close around them, blocking the trail they left from view. It’s darker beneath their dense canopy, and somehow warmer. Only the sounds of their heavy breathing and the trees shivering above fill the air, as Aion pulls his beloved closer to his side, deeper into the woods. They don’t hold back here, where there are no lingering eyes to see them; he lets himself get drunk on Eros’ touch, high on the sight of him alone. All that’s left is the two of them and their love, and it’s all he wants.

Fireflies are still dancing on the path behind them, their quiet buzz drifting steadily towards the river. And yet, a few follow along beside the entwined lovers, lighting the darkness of the forest around them.






walk. "talk."
@eros
baby time!!!